The Princess of Tennis
by ViennaSky
Summary: What would happen if Sakuno was Kunimitsu Tezuka's little sister? What would happen if she liked Ryoma and he liked her back but didn't know how to express it? What would happen if Yuuta Fuji falls in love with her too after saving her from an accident?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis or any of it's characters._

**Chapter 1**

_You can do it! _She thought. _You only have to reach a few more centimeters. _

Sakuno Tezuka was in trouble She was currently balancing on a skinny tree limb that was 15 feet off the ground desperately reaching for a tennis racquet that had strategically fallen on the roof.

--

It had all started on an afternoon tennis practice during spring vacation. The girl's tennis team didn't have practice that day, but she decided to go with her brother Kunimitsu's to his Seigaku regulars practice for extra training. Her onii-san has always the emphasized the importance of hard work for improvement, and Sakuno's tennis skills definitely needed improvement. Besides that she also got to see Ryoma, whom she still had a crush on.

When Kunimitsu and Sakuno got to the courts, they recognized the face of Yuuta Fuji among the familiar faces of the rest of the regulars.

"Good morning Tezuka and Sakuno-chan! Shusuke Fuji greeted them cheerfully. "I see you guys remember my little brother Yuuta."

"Today St. Rudolph's team has all gone on vacation except for Yuuta-kun and Shusuke was wondering if he could practice here with us. It would benefit everyone if he did." Shuichiro Oishi explained to her onii-san.

Sakuno watched her brother think intently, silently weighing out the pros and cons of the situation placed before him by his best friend.

"All right." He said after a while. "But only because it's a free play day today." He added.

"Thank you Tezuka, I knew you'd understand." Shusuke said sweetly.

"Yeah, Thanks" His little brother Yuuta added quietly.

It was evident to all that Yuuta was uncomfortable being an outsider in the Seigaku practice

To make him feel better, Sakuno introduced herself and mentioned that she tagged along with her brother to practices all the time. After this, Yuuta and Sakuno struck up a short conversation about tennis as they waited for all the other regulars to arrive. They could both relate to having amazing tennis players for brothers and their own desire to improve.

"Tezuka, Fuji, practice is about to begin." Said Ryoma, interrupting their conversation.

Finally all the regulars got there and her brother started to announce the stretching and the warm-ups of the day.

_What's he doing here and why is he talking with her!?_ Ryoma muttered to himself. He didn't understand why he was so angry. Maybe he was jealous? _No way…_ He thought. _What's there to be jealous of, I don't even like her! _But a part of him knew that he was wrong.

--

After 15 minutes of stretching and 15 laps around the track, the tennis playing was about to begin. Everyone matched up to play against each other. Ryoma was playing against Yuuta.

"Sakuno, you should practice by hitting balls against the wall by the water fountains until I finish my game against Shusuke. Then I'll go over there and help you. Don't forget what I told you last time about hitting the ball on the right place on the racquet." Kunimitsu advised.

"Hai." Sakuno said enthusiastically, happy to improve her tennis. She reached into her bag and searched around for her racquet until she realized that she forgot to put it in that morning because she had been busy worrying about the bento that she made for Ryoma as congratulation present.

"Ano... onii-san, I think I forgot my racquet at home." She told her brother apologetically.

Kunimitsu sighed and said. "It can't be helped. Here Sakuno, use my racquet and I'll use my spare."

"Really? Thank you onii-san!" She said.

_Onii-san let me borrow his favorite racquet, the one that oto-san and oka-san gave him when he went to Seishun 3 years ago. _She thought.

After 20 minutes of practice, Sakuno was sure that she was hitting the ball on the center of the racquet like her brother told her to do. Filled with confidence, she hit a particularly strong serve, lost her balance and fell face first to the ground.

_Owww…_She thought. _Onii-san was right, I should have never let my guard down._

She picked herself of from the ground, determined to try again, when she realized that when she fell, the racquet had been flung from her hands.

She frantically searched everywhere for it and eventually found it on the roof of the tennis clubroom which was at least 15 feet off the ground.

_Oh no! That was onii-san's favorite racquet and I have to get it back or he'll be mad! But how do I get to the roof? Since it's the vacation the school doors will be locked. What am I going to do! _She thought.

Suddenly, Sakuno noticed the tree that was growing next to the club room and made up her mind to climb on it so that she could reach the roof. She carefully climbed up the trunk and made it all the way up to the part that was the same height as the roof. Then she cautiously edged onto a branch that brought her closer to her brother's racquet.

_You can do it! _She thought as she stretched her arms out in an attempt to reach it. _You only have to reach a few more centimeters. _

--

"5 minute water break!" Kunimitsu shouted so that everyone could hear him.

Ryoma and Yuuta had finished playing a long game against each other and were thirsty so they made their way to the water fountains behind the tennis club room.

"Good game Echizen. I was closer to beating you this time." Yuuta said enthusiastically. He was happy to play tennis again just for the love of playing it and not just to win. Recently, he had been feeling a lot of pressure from Mizuki-san, his ambitious manager. So much pressure, that he was really getting sick of even playing tennis.

"You are a lot better this time but still mada mada dane." Ryoma said nonchalantly.

_What a stuck up guy, I still can't believe he's only a 7__th__ grader._ Yuuta thought to himself and chuckled.

As the two boys walked nearer to their destination, they both saw the figure of Sakuno Tezuka balancing dangerously on a tree limb while trying to reach something on the roof.

"Tezuka?" Ryoma called out in surprise.

At that moment, Sakuno instinctively turned her head toward Ryoma's voice and lost her balance. Before she knew it, she was falling all the way to the ground. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact with the hard ground but it didn't come. Instead she found herself in a pair of strong thin arms.

"Ryoma-kun?" She said not daring to open her eyes.

"No, it's me Yuuta Fuji." Said a voice.

"Yuuta-kun…arigato." Sakuno said breathlessly as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Were you looking for this?" Another voice said. Ryoma was standing in front of them holding Kunimitsu's tennis racquet that had fallen during all the commotion.

"Oh! Onii-san's racquet! Thank you Ryoma-kun."

"Are you okay?" Yuuta asked concernedly.

"Hai. Sorry for causing you trouble Yuuta-kun." Sakuno replied. When he was trying to put her down, Yuuta felt a sharp pain in his left arm and cried out.

"Yuuta-kun!"

"Fuji!"

"I think that there's something wrong with my arm." He said weakly, his face twisted with pain.

"You might have hurt it when you ran to catch Tezuka; I'll go get Inui-sempai he'll know what to do." Ryoma said.

"I'm so sorry Yuuta-kun!" Sakuno cried out.

--

"It's a sprained wrist." Sadaharu Inui pronounced. "It seems that when you caught Sakuno-chan, you landed on your wrist the wrong way and the ligaments got twisted."

"When can I play tennis again?" Yuuta asked.

"A week." Inui replied.

Yuuta felt a sense of relief wash over him. One week of no tennis pressure from Mizuki-san. He was distracted from his thoughts by a small sobbing noise.

"Yuuta-kun, I'm really very sorry for doing this to you. If you hadn't caught me I'd have gotten hurt but now you can't play tennis for a week!" Sakuno cried out, she was on the verge of tears.

"It's alright." He replied as he explained about the pressure he was feeling from his demanding captain. "Now I have an excuse to get away from Mizuki-san's nagging for a while."

"Sakuno, what were you doing to fall in the first place?" Her onii-san asked sternly.

Sakuno hung her head in shame and told her story of the racquet and the rooftop.

"You idiot! What were you thinking!?" Kunimitsu yelled angrily. "If Yuuta hadn't caught you, you could have gotten hurt, you could have died!"

Sakuno flinched at the sound of her brother's raised voice. This was the first time that he had been this mad at her.

"I can always get another tennis racquet but I can't get another little sister." He said, gently hugging her. "Don't scare me like that again." He muttered.

Everyone else in the court was stunned; they had never seen the captain show so much emotion before.

"I'm sorry onii-san. I'm sorry Yuuta-kun. I'm sorry Fuji-sempai. I'm sorry everyone." Sakuno sobbed.

"I told you before it's alright. Heck you're even doing me a favor!" Yuuta said cheerfully.

"If you don't stop apologizing Sakuno-chan, Yuuta and I will never forgive you and we'll make you drink a full liter of Sadaharu's vegetable juice!" Shusuke joked.

The laughter in the room was drowned out by the grumble of Yuuta's stomach.

"I must have worked off all my breakfast and now I'm hungry again." He said.

Sakuno immediately ran to her tennis bag and grabbed the bento that she originally made for Ryoma.

"If you want, you can have this." She offered tentatively.

"Thanks Sakuno-chan." Yuuta opened the bento and ate it enthusiastically.

Ryoma glared at the two of them beaming at each other. That bento was his and he knew it. He should have been the one to catch her when she fell too.

"Yummy, this is great! You're a really good cook Sakuno-chan! My mom and dad are on vacation right now so I haven't had a good home cooked meal in a long time."

"Really? Arigato Yuuta-kun!"

After hearing this Kunimitsu got a good idea. "Sakuno in order to apologize to Yuuta-kun you should make him lunch everyday until his wrist heals." He suggested.

"Okay, if that's alright with you Yuuta-kun." She asked shyly.

"Okay? That'd be great! Shusuke is a horrible cook; I've been eating nothing but burnt food for days!" Yuuta replied happily.

"I'll see you tomorow then!" Sakuno replied with a smile on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis or any of its characters._

_PS: In my original draft I got Shusuke and Yuuta's older sister's name wrong. Thanks to all of those who corrected me. If I have any other mistakes, please tell me. I want to make my stories as realistic as possible. Or as realistic as a fanfic can get anyway! Thanks for reading. Vienna Sky_**  
**

**Chapter 2**

"All right, here goes nothing." Sakuno muttered nervously to herself as she reached a tentative hand out for the doorbell.

It had been a day since she accidentally injured Yuuta Fuji and had promised to cook lunch for him until his wrist had healed. Now she stood nervously on his doorstep trying to muster up the courage to ring the doorbell. In her other hand was two bento boxes neatly wrapped in a red cloth. She was excited for him to try her food. Since her parents were on business trips a lot and her brother had tennis practice everyday of the week except Sunday, she had learned to cook for herself at a young age. She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of the front door opening.

"Hello, you must be Kunimitsu's little sister. My name is Yumiko Fuji. I'm Shusuke and Yuuta's onee-san." The speaker of the words was a stunningly beautiful young woman of about 20.

"Hello, my name is Sakuno Tezuka. It's nice to meet you. I came to bring Yuuta-kun lunch today." Sakuno said frantically, flustered to be caught off guard.

"Oh, Yuuta told me about what happened yesterday." Yumiko said as Sakuno blushed as deep as the cloth she was holding.

"I'm really, really sorry about that!" Sakuno replied guiltily.

"Don't be." Yumiko said sweetly. "Accidents happen and it was a good thing that you didn't get hurt and between you and me, Shusuke and I are such bad cooks that I'm sure Yuuta would sprain his other wrist just to escape our cooking! Come inside."

Sakuno giggled. Yumiko-san was as nice as Fuji-sempai was and her warm smile made Sakuno feel comfortable as she walked into the house.

"Why don't you wait in the living room while I go get Yuuta? Make yourself at home." Yumiko suggested.

"Hai, thank you so much Yumiko-san." Sakuno said as she perched timidly on the couch and took time to admire the room.

The Fuji living room was modernly decorated with black leather furniture, a glass coffee table and a big screen TV. Along the walls were beautiful paintings of traditional Japanese landscapes and photos of the entire family. Sakuno could see that Shusuke and Yumiko-san got their gentle smile from their mother and that all of the children had inherited their father's reddish-brown hair.

_What a nice family_ She thought to herself. _They all seem so happy together, I wish oto-san and oka-san were home more often. _Her parents both worked for an export company and their work brought them overseas often and for long periods of time. In her childhood, she spent a lot of time with her brother, which is why they were so close. _I wish I had parents like that._ She thought wistfully.

"Sakuno-chan? Are you okay? You look really sad."

Sakuno whipped around to see the concerned face of Yuuta Fuji looking at her, his left wrist and hand wrapped up in a sling.

"I'm fine, I was just day dreaming. Here's your lunch Yuuta-kun and here's Fuji-sempai's. I didn't know you had a sister, otherwise I would have made one for her too." Sakuno replied. Just then, Yumiko and Shusuke popped their heads into the doorway.

"Thank you for thinking of us but I'm afraid that we won't get the chance to eat it." Shusuke said slyly, his dark blue eyes gleaming.

"Yes." Yumiko added. "Shusuke and I have to go buy groceries. See you later Yuuta. It was nice meeting you Sakuno-chan!" She said as they rushed out the door.

"Wait!" Yuuta called out. "You just went grocery shopping yesterday!" But they had already gotten into the car and sped off leaving a confused Yuuta and an anxious Sakuno.

"Ano…thank you for making this for me, but can you do something else for me too?" Yuuta said not looking into her eyes.

"Sure, anything you want." Sakuno said happy to be of use.

"Well, I'm a lefty and yesterday I injured my left wrist. I really can't hold chopsticks with my right hand so I've been having my siblings feed me all morning but now that there gone…" He trailed off too embarrassed to say more.

"Okay, I'll feed you." Sakuno said and she opened up the bento box and picked up a little bit of food with the chopsticks and placed it delicately in his mouth. She watched him chew, apprehensively awaiting his reaction.

"Wow, this is really good! Even better than the one you made yesterday!" He said enthusiastically. He really meant it too.

"Really? You think so?" She replied.

"Yeah! It's delicious! Why don't you have the one that you made for Shusuke? He and onee-san already ate. And don't worry about making them food; they like to eat out a lot." Yuuta suggested.

"Alright, if you say so. But next time I'll bring dessert for the whole family." Sakuno said cheerfully as she opened up the other box. She alternated between feeding Yuuta and feeding herself but switching chopsticks each time was a hassle.

"Ne Sakuno-chan. I don't mind using the same chopstick as you if it makes it easier." He said quietly. "I mean, if that's okay with you because I don't mind if you don't want to either." He added hurriedly.

"It's alright, I don't mind either." Sakuno replied shyly.

After that the two talked for a long time and Yuuta found himself talking about the pressure that he had been feeling lately from Mizuki-san and how ever since he transferred to St. Rudolph he wasn't as close to his brother anymore.

_I've never told anyone this stuff before._ He thought to himself. _She's such a good listener and I feel like she understands me and I understand her._

Sakuno talked about the absences of her parents and about her feeling like a burden to her brother all the time because of her clumsiness in tennis.

"I'm so clumsy. I wish I had quick reflexes like you and onii-san. If I hadn't been stupid enough to try to get that racquet, then you wouldn't have gotten hurt." She said sadly as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"You're not stupid or clumsy." Yuuta told her as he gently wiped the tears from her face. "I think that everyone has strength and weaknesses and some of your strengths are definitely cooking and being a good listener."

"Thanks Yuuta-kun."

"If you want to improve your tennis skills, then tomorrow I could meet you at the tennis courts at Kazedai Park and help you. That way you could get practice without bothering your brother." He said.

"Wow! That'd be great but will it be okay for you with your injury?" Sakuno asked worriedly.

"It'll be fine, the doctor said that I should exercise the rest of my body to keep it in good condition and I'll just be coaching you anyway." He reassured her.

Just then Sakuno's cell phone rang. It was her brother checking in with her since it was already 4:00.

_4:00! I've been here for four hours!_ She thought.

"What's up?" Yuuta asked after she had hung up.

"Oh, I lost track of time and I should be getting home now." Sakuno said.

"I'll walk you home; I don't want you to go alone." Yuuta said.

"Alright." She said happy to spend more time with her new friend.

* * *

When they reached the gates of her house she turned around to say good bye.

"I'll meet you at noon tomorrow at the Kazedai Park tennis courts okay?" Yuuta said.

"Okay, I'll see you then Yuuta-kun. Bye." Sakuno said. After he turned around and left she went into her house.

"How did it go?" Kunimitsu asked her when she came through the door smiling.

"It was great!" Sakuno said cheerfully. "Tomorrow we're going to meet at Kazedai Park and he's going to help me with my tennis."

"Oh really? The bath is ready if you want to use it. After that come down and get ready to eat dinner." He replied, happy to see her in high spirits.

Sakuno went up the stairs reflecting upon her day and eagerly awaiting the chance to spend tomorrow with her new friend.

* * *

"Oy Echizen!" Takeshi Momoshiro said over the phone to his friend. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing really, why?" Ryoma replied.

"There's a place by my house that's just renovated their tennis courts and it's really nice. Wanna have a game or two?" Momo asked.

"Sure why not? I'll see you tomorrow morning." Ryoma responded. "What's the place called again?"

"Kazedai Park."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kunimitsu Tezuka always woke up at 7:00 am sharp on school days and even weekends. First he woke up his little sister Sakuno and made his bed, and then he would brush his teeth, wash his face and change. At 7:15 precisely, he would finish and go down to start breakfast if his mom wasn't home (and she usually wasn't).

Today was no different from any other day, even if it was spring vacation. When the alarm went off at 7:00 to wake him up, Kunimitsu immediately turned it off and went over to Sakuno's room next door to rouse her. But to his surprise, he found her door open and her bed neatly made.

_It's strange to see her up this early._ He thought to himself. _She must have something really important to do today. But what could it be? _

Suddenly he thought of the answer to his question. Today was the day she had made plans to meet with Yuuta Fuji at Kazedai Park for "tennis training". He was perplexed when she first told him, but if it made her into a better player, then it didn't matter who taught her tennis.

_She's probably in the kitchen making Yuuta's lunch then._ He surmised as he wentdown the stairs to the first floor of their house. Sure enough, when he came down he saw her fully dressed, wrapping up two bento boxes in her favorite handkerchief.

"Good morning onii-san!" Sakuno said cheerfully as she noticed her brother walk into the room.

"Good morning. Are you packing lunch already?" He asked in reply.

"Hai, I wanted to get it ready so that I didn't forget to do it later. I made breakfast today too!"

"Thank you. I'll have some after I go and change." He said as he walked back upstairs to finish his disrupted morning routine. The clock in the hallway read 7:16

_This is going to be an interesting da_y. Kunimitsu thought.

* * *

"Has anyone seen my tennis uniform?" Yuuta called out. It was 8:00 am at the Fuji house.

"Yeah, nee-san just washed it. It's in the laundry room." Shusuke called back.

"Thanks." Yuuta said.

"You're not wearing that on your date with Sakuno-chan are you?" Yumiko asked.

"Nee-san, it's not a date! I'm just helping her improve her tennis game, that's all!" Yuuta said quickly turning bright red.

"Well, date or not you should still wear something else besides your team uniform. Here, wear this instead. Shusuke and I saw it at a store yesterday and we got it for you." She said pulling out a matching pair of tennis clothes from a bag. The polo and shorts were grey and had a design of black lines on them.

"Thanks nee-san. Thanks aniki." Yuuta replied after he put them on.

_It looks pretty good._ Yuuta thought as he examined himself in the mirror. _I just hope Sakuno-chan thinks so too._

"Shusuke, Yuuta! It's time for breakfast!" His sister's voice called from the kitchen accompanied by the smell of burnt food. "I made eggs and bacon!"

_Oh no. _Yuuta groaned. _Not another meal of charcoal again. I can't wait until 12:00_

* * *

"Next stop, Kazedai Park! Next stop Kazedai Park!" The bus driver's voice announced. Sakuno got off the bus when it stopped a few second later. She glanced at the large clock at the entrance of the large park and gasped.

_Its 11:57 I'm going to be late! I should have asked onii-san to show me where the tennis courts were so I wouldn't have to wander around looking for them._ She thought as she helplessly walked around with 2 bento boxes, a box of desserts and her tennis gear precariously balanced in her arms. _I hope Yuuta-kun doesn't get mad._ She said to herself nervously.

"Sakuno-chan!" A familiar voice called out.

"Yuuta-kun!" Sakuno cried out in surprise. "I thought we're going to meet at the tennis court."

"Yeah, but yesterday your brother called me and told me to meet you here instead because he thought that you might get lost. Here let me help you with some of your things." Yuuta said as he took her tennis bag with his free hand.

"Arigato Yuuta-kun." She replied sweetly and the two of them walked together to the tennis area.

* * *

"Are you ready to lose yet Echizen?" Momo called out to his friend 30 minutes into their game.

"You should ask that question to yourself, not me." Ryoma countered haughtily.

"Oh should I? Then how about I do this instead?" Momo said as the hit one of his trademark dunk smashes.

At that point, Ryoma had no choice but to try to hit a lob by going under the ball. However, he hit the ball with the tip of his racquet, causing it to fly over the fence.

"Hah! Now what were you saying about not being ready to lose again?" Momo asked. "Hey! Don't ignore me!" Momo added as Ryoma walked out of the court to retrieve the ball.

"Here it is." Ryoma said as he spotted the ball lying near a wall that two people were playing on. As he came closer, he recognized the faces of Yuuta Fuji and Sakuno Tezuka.

_What on earth is he doing here with her? _He asked himself for the second time this week. _I've got to see this._ He thought as he crept into a bush. 5 minutes later Momo spotted him hiding and joined him stealthily.

"Are you spying on them because you're jealous?" He whispered, teasing his friend.

"I'm not jealous. I just want to know what they're doing." Ryoma whispered back. "If you tell anyone about this, I'll tell people about An Tachibana." He added after seeing the mischievous look on Momo's face.

"All right, all right. I won't." Momo replied. "Look they're kissing! Just kidding." He said after seeing the murderous look on Ryoma's face.

* * *

After stretching, Sakuno started hitting shots to her self against the wall.

"You have nice control, but your form isn't quite stable yet." Yuuta said kindly after a few minutes.

"Here let me help you." He said stepping behind her and guiding her hand with his own through the hitting motion. He instinctively put his other hand on her waist to steady her as she swung, but quickly let go when he realized what he what doing.

"I feel the difference when I swing now, thank you Yuuta-kun."

"N-no problem." He stuttered nervously. "I think you'll find you'll have more stability when you hit now." He added looking away from her.

_You idiot! Why are you embarrassed? You were __**only**__ helping her fix her form, that's all!_ He thought as he felt himself turning red.

_Yuuta-kun sure is acting weird today. I wonder if he's sick._ Sakuno thought to herself. She was distracted from her thoughts when she hit a particularly strong lob that caused the ball to fly way over the wall.

"I'm sorry! I'll go get it." She cried out embarrassedly and ran off before Yuuta could reply.

_Gosh that was embarrassing._ She muttered to herself as looked around for her tennis ball.

"There it is!" She said spotting it at a nearby occupied tennis court. As she reached out to grab for it, another hand grasped it before her and offered it to her.

"Is this your ball little girl?" A suave voice said. The voice belonged to a young man with black hair and black eyes.

"Hai, arigato. I'm sorry to trouble you." She replied.

"It's alright, in tennis, experienced members should always help out the beginners." He said smiling slyly.

* * *

_Where is she?_ Yuuta thought. _I would have offered to get the ball for her if she didn't run off so quickly. I hope she's okay. _

Just as he finished his thought, he saw Sakuno walking toward him with the figure of someone behind her, a very familiar figure. As they came closer, Yuuta recognized the face of Hajime Mizuki.

"Mizuki-san!? Aren't you and the rest of the team supposed to be in on vacation in Okinawa? " Yuuta asked him, thoroughly stunned.

"Things happened and we had to get back early, so I came here to do some scouting for new members. But I see you've been busy too, haven't you Yuuta?" Mizuki asked quietly.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own The Prince of Tennis!

**Chapter 4**

"It seems like a lot has happened since I've been gone." Mizuki commented again. "What else have you done Mr. Hero? Tezuka-san told me about what happened." He asked with a small chuckle.

"Ummmmm…Nothing really, besides that." Yuuta replied. _I hope Mizuki-san didn't yell at her when he found out. It doesn't look like he did; but still, he could be planning something worse. I've got to get us as far from Mizuki-san as possible! _He thought concernedly.

"You and Yuuta probably have a lot in common, don't you?" Mizuki asked Sakuno with the kindest voice he could muster. "You both have brothers on the Seigaku tennis team that are really good and you're both trying hard to improve. Ne Sakuno-chan, have you ever thought about joining the St. Rudolph girl's tennis team? I think you could do really well there."

"Thank you Mizuki-san, but I like going to the same school as my brother. We're not competitive at all and he's even my coach." She said respectfully.

"You're coach? Then where is he now? From what I see, it looks like Yuuta is your coach. Your brother is probably really busy being the captain of the top seeded team in the district and trying to teach you at the same time. You should give him a break and go to St. Rudolph instead. It would benefit both of you." Mizuki said.

_I know what he's trying to do._ Yuuta thought. _He's trying to make her come to St. Rudolph so he can cause havoc to Tezuka's personal life and get him to lose his concentration. He already messed up my relationship with my brother, I'm not gonna let him do the same with Sakuno-chan!_

"Mizuki-san, I thought that you were scouting new members for our team not the girl's team." Yuuta said before Sakuno could answer. "Anyway, Sakuno-chan and I have to go do something important, see you after the vacation!" He added hurriedly as he began to pack his racquet.

"I guess you're right, but what are you two doing that's so important?" Mizuki asked slyly.

Sakuno could see Yuuta's desire to get away from Mizuki-san as far as possible and she waited apprehensively for him to think of an excuse.

"We're…we're…" He said desperately searching for a legitimate reason to ditch his captain.

"You're what?" Mizuki pressed.

"We're on a date." Sakuno said blurting out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Really? I better leave you two alone then. Have fun!" Mizuki-san said waiting for them to leave.

"Come on Sakuno-chan, let's go." Yuuta said helping her pick up her things.

"Ok." She replied. After saying a few hurried good byes to Mizuki, they both walked to the entrance of the park and waited for the bus.

* * *

"Tezuka-buchou's little sister and Fuji-sempai's little brother on a date?" Momo said incredulously from the bush after everyone had gone. "Let's go follow them Echizen, this should be fun."

"No. I don't want to. Who cares what they do? I definitely don't." Ryoma said more to himself than to Momo.

"This is so stupid. I'm going home." Ryoma said as he stalked off muttering to himself.

"Oy Echizen! What about our game?" Momo called out but Ryoma was already gone. "Ah…The passion of young love!" He added wisely after Ryoma was gone.

Once they were safely on the bus and away from Mizuki. Sakuno said shyly "Ano… Yuuta-kun, I'm sorry for telling Mizuki-san that we were going on a date but it was all I could think of to get us out of there."

"No, don't be. If you hadn't said anything then we'd probably still standing there waiting for me to find a good excuse." He said nervously, not making eye contact with her.

"I'm sorry he said those things to you Sakuno-chan. They we're all lies anyway, you belong at Seigaku. So do I. Sometimes I wish I could have just put aside the problems I had with my brother and just joined the tennis team instead of running off." He added sadly.

"Ne... Yuuta-kun, my bus stop is next. If you want we can eat lunch at my house this time." She said.

"Okay. That whole encounter with Mizuki-san made me hungry!" He said as they both laughed.

* * *

Sakuno opened her front door and walked into the living room as Yuuta followed her nervously. "Onii-san I'm home!" She called out.

Kunimitsu looked up from the book he was reading and saw Sakuno and Yuuta. "Welcome back." He replied. "It's good to see you again Yuuta-kun, how is your wrist?" He added to the boy behind his little sister.

"It's good to see you again too Tezuka-san. My wrist is healing; it should be as good as new in five days." Yuuta replied.

"That's good to hear." He replied.

"Onii-san, we wanted to eat lunch here. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. The sun is out today, you should go eat in the garden." Kunimitsu suggested.

"Ok! You can see our koi pond Yuuta-kun."

Kunimitsu smiled to himself as he watched the two walk outside into the sunlight.

Just then the phone rang and he went over to pick it up.

"Hello. This is the Tezuka residence." He said into the phone.

"Hello Tezuka-kun, remember me?" A strange voice said over the line.

"Who is this?" Kunimitsu said impatiently, annoyed to be disturbed from his yet book again.

"The manager of the St. Rudolph tennis team. Hajime Mizuki."


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters._

**Chapter 5**

"What do you want with me Mizuki?" Kunimitsu said curtly to the Rudolphian manager on the other side of the phone line.

"Oh nothing to do with you. I just wanted to speak to Sakuno-chan." Mizuki replied with false cheerfulness ignoring Kunimitsu's icy tone.

"Sakuno? Why?" He said cautiously. That Hajime Mizuki was definitely not to be trusted.

"I just wanted to her to know that she and Yuuta have my blessing to be a couple, I ran into them while they were on a date this morning." Mizuki said nonchalantly. _If only I could see his expression right now… _He smirked to himself.

Kunimitsu was surprised and he knew that Mizuki wanted him to be. _If I express my shock I'll be playing right into his hands. _He thought to himself.

"That's good to hear. I'll tell Sakuno then. She'll be so happy to hear that their relationship has support from both sides." He countered.

"B-both sides?" Mizuki sputtered in shock. That was the last thing he was expecting to hear.

"Well, if that's all you have to say Mizuki, I have things to do. Bye." Kunimitsu said into the phone and promptly hung up leaving a dazed and thoroughly shocked Mizuki.

Kunimitsu sat down in a couch and began to resume reading his novel again, making a mental note to talk with Sakuno later. The sun shined through the window and the pleasant smell of blooming flowers from the garden was wafted in by a gentle breeze. He reclined a little on the couch, imagined Mizuki's bewildered face on the other side of the phone and laughed out loud for the first time in a long time.

* * *

"I'm home!" Yuuta called to his family as he stepped into his house. He was immediately bombarded by a wave of comments by his family.

"How was it?" "Did you kiss her?" "My little boy is all grown up." "I'm proud of you son."

"It was fine." As he set down Sakuno's box of cakes on the table, he explained to his family the events of the day.

"Oh dear, so now Mizuki-kun thinks that you two are going out?" Yumiko asked her little brother after he finished his narrative.

"Yeah, but we're not though." He added hurriedly, turning red.

"What does Tezuka-san's family think of all of this? The little incident with Mizuki-kun might have some grave repercussions." His father commented.

"She said that she was going to talk with her brother after I left." Yuuta said.

"Don't worry everyone, I'll call their house tonight and explain everything." Shusuke said to his family. "Kunimitsu is good onii-san, he'll understand."

* * *

That night Sakuno lay awake in her bed reflecting upon the events of the day. _I'm so stupid! Why is it that the first excuse I could think of was that we were on a date? How could I say such a thing? Yuuta-kun and I are just friends. Besides, if I were to go on a date, I'd want it to be with Ryo-_

Suddenly a knock at the door awakened Sakuno from her thoughts.

"What is it Onii-san?" She asked after Kunimitsu appeared through the door.

"Sakuno, tomorrow the starters and I are going to the beach for a special training day. I invited Yuuta along so that he could start doing some rehabilitation exercise to help his wrist heal faster. You should come too; I'll help you improve your back hand." He said.

"Alright." She said quietly.

"What's the matter? Are you still worried about Mizuki?" He asked. She had told him what had happened earlier that day during dinner.

"Yeah…I hope Yuuta-kun isn't mad at me for embarrassing him like that."

"Don't worry too much about it. Yuuta isn't that foolish. If it really bothers you so much, you can talk to him about it tomorrow."

"Ok, I will. Thanks onii-san." Sakuno said optimistically.

"Get some sleep now, tomorrow is going to be a long day and you're going to need enough energy to last the entire day."

"Hai. Good night onii-san."

"Good night."

Sakuno slipped underneath the covers and tried to get to sleep as her brother's words echoed in her head: _"Tommorow is going to be a long day and you're going to need enough energy to last the entire day…"_ Little did she know that she wasn't going to be using the energy for tennis.

_Phew. I just finished editing the previous chapters. I forgot to put in the lines that indicate scene changes. Sorry if it confused anyone. Thank you to those who corrected me about Mizuki's job. I always forget that Mizuki is the manager and not the captain of St Rudolph. Happy reading!Vienna Sky_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Everybody here?" Sumire Ryuzaki's strong voice called out to the bus full of tennis players. It was 8 am the next day and the Seigaku tennis players with the addition of Yuuta and Sakuno were getting ready to leave on their special training day at the beach. There were two empty seats.

"I apologize, Ryuzaki-sensei." Tezuka said quietly. "My sister forgot to bring some things so she ran back to our house to get them. She will be back shortly."

"That's fine then." Ryuzaki-sensei replied. "Sometimes a girl's got to be fashionably late. I know I was back in the day!" she said laughing as the rest of the team cringes as they imagined their coach back in the day. "Who else is missing?" she added gesturing to the other empty seat.

"Ochibi is missing!" Momo piped up from the third row. "He probably overslept, the lazy kid."

A few miles away Ryoma Echizen heard knocking on his bedroom door.

"What is it?" He said groggily as he pulled himself into a sitting position in his bed and wiped his eyes.

"Oy, do you know what day it is sleeping beauty?" Nanjiro Echizen asked his not yet fully awake son.

"Ah! The special training day!" He cried after a few moments of thought. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier old man!?" He said with exasperation after he glanced at his clock. He was an hour late.

He quickly packed and ran out the door, saying a quick good bye to his mother and cousin. _Stupid old man…it's all his fault._ He muttered darkly, irritated at the less than warm awakening he got from his father earlier that day. As he ran closer to the front gate of the school he noticed the familiar figure of Sakuno stopped on the sidewalk clutching at her side and breathing heavily as she held a heavy bag in her hand.

"Tired after running? Mada mada dane." He said as he passed her and carried her bag for her.

"Arigato, Ryoma-kun." She replied shyly, embarrassed to be teased by the boy she liked. Together the pair ran up to the waiting bus and got on.

"There you two are!" Ryuzaki-sensei called from the driver's seat. Ryoma's eyes scanned the bus fro empty seats and found that the only vacant ones were right next to Yuuta. Sakuno edged down the aisle of the bus and took the seat next to Yuuta after greeting him and Ryoma took the seat next to her.

"It's going to be a two hour ride to the beach so get comfy!" Ryuzaki-sensei said as the bus was about to leave.

Ryoma stared moodily out the window as Yuuta and Sakuno struck up a light conversation about their destination, school and tennis.

After an hour had passed, Sakuno found herself to be very sleepy. _Uh-oh. I'm sitting in the middle between Yuuta-kun and Ryoma-kun. If I fall asleep my head will rest on their shoulders. How embarrassing, I should have asked to sit next to onii-san._ She thought worriedly. _It's okay. I'll just have to stay awake, that's all._

Fifteen minutes passed as she tried in vain to keep from falling asleep. Ryoma was still watching the landscape pass by when he felt something soft press against his shoulder. He looked over to see Sakuno leaning on him and sleeping peacefully. Her hair felt smooth against the skin of his arm and the smell of her peach shampoo filled his nose.

"Hey. Tezuka, wake-up." He said nudging her gently. He gave up after she didn't wake up. _I guess it's okay for a little bit._ He thought to himself as he continued staring out the window again, aware of her gentle breathing next to him.

Suddenly, a sharp turn from the bus moved Sakuno's head onto Yuuta's shoulder. He blushed as he looked at the sleeping girl leaning on him. Another sharp turn moved her back to Ryoma until yet another sharp turn resulted in Yuuta's shoulder again. Back and forth. _This is going to be a long ride._ They thought in unison.

* * *

The bus screeched to a stop at a large hotel complex right by the seashore complete with pool, gym and most importantly, tennis court.

"We're here!" Ryuzaki-sensei announced to the bus as people started to get off the bus and retrieve their luggage.

"We're still missing three people." Oishi said to his coach.

"There over here!" Kikumaru shouted, looking into the bus. The others clambered over to peer into the window and in the back row were Yuuta, Sakuno and Ryoma piled up on each other like a basket of kittens, fast asleep.

"Oy! Wake up lovebirds! We're here!" Momo shouted, tapping on the window. The three young teens woke up and hurried out of the bus, each of their faces a bright red.

"I have an announcement to make." Ryuzaki said after the team finished teasing the three. "I know that I told you that we were coming here to do some special training, but I lied. I booked this hotel for as a reward for all of your hard work so far this year."

"Yes, you guys too." She added to Sakuno and Yuuta. "For the next three days I want you to relax, enjoy yourselves and have fun!"

"Oh I have a feeling that it'll be very fun…" Momo and Kikumaru said mischievously, eying Ryoma, Yuuta and Sakuno.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Wow. What a nice room!" Sakuno exclaimed after opening the door to the hotel room. The room was modernly decorated in shades of blue and green. A pair of twin beds with matching blue sheets stood side by side close to the full length windows adorned with linen curtains. Kunimitsu opened the curtains to let light into the room and the two siblings looked out at the beautiful ocean view.

Shortly after arriving at the hotel, everyone checked in and was assigned rooms. Next to Kunimitsu and Sakuno's room was Yuuta and Shusuke. On the other side were Momo and Ryoma.

"The buffet at the hotel is probably open now. We should get lunch. At 5pm we'll come back for dinner and at 7pm Momo and Kikumaru have planned a group activity for us" Kunimitsu said after glancing at his watch and the schedule they all were given.

"Let's go swimming in the ocean today!" Sakuno added excitedly following her brother out the door.

* * *

"Tonight's group activity will be…" Momo announced in his grandest voice.

"A TEST OF COURAGE!" Kikumaru finished for his friend.

It was 7pm and the Seigaku tennis team and friends were gathered in the lobby of the hotel just as they had planned.

"Tonight pairs of two will have to go through the creepy forest with this list if things to find and a flashlight." Momo said.

"The first pair to find all the things on their list and make it to the finish line before sunrise wins." Kikumaru added.

"So it's just like a scavenger hunt right?" Taka asked.

"Exactly."

"Che, a scavenger hunt is child's play." Kaidoh muttered.

"That may be, but have you ever heard the legend of the headless woodsman who haunts this forest?" Inui asked the crowd.

"No."

"A long time ago, this area of Japan was all wilderness. One night a woodsman went into the forest to gather wood for his family's fire. The woodsman was very upset at the time because the local governor had tried to buy the woodsman's house as a vacation spot because it has such a great view of the beach. Legend says that as the woodsman walked into the forest that night; the governor followed him waiting for his chance. When the tired woodsman sat down to take a rest, the governor quickly picked up his axe and beheaded him with it! The governor threw the corpse into the lake and then bought the woodsman's house the next day." Inui said dramatically.

"A week later, they found the mangled body of the governor in the forest. No one knows how he got there; no one knows how he died. After years had passed the governor's land was bought by this resort company who didn't know about it's grisly past until they bought it. How do you think we got the hotel rooms so cheap? It's because everyone else is too afraid to stay here. It's said that every night the ghost of the headless woodsman wanders through this forest with his axe, waiting to kill anyone who dares to trespass his home." He ended chillingly.

"Or at least that's what they say anyway. Let's play! Inui added cheerfully.

"Wait! I forgot to say that the partners were picked earlier by random drawing. Ryuzaki-sensei will now announce the teams as Eiji and I go to the finish line. Have fun!" Momo said and he and Kikumaru ran off into the darkness.

"First team: Shusuke and Kawamura. Second team: Tezuka and Oishi. Third team: Inui and Kaidoh." She announced.

"Since there is an uneven amount of people, the team of three will be Echizen, Yuuta and Sakuno." Ryuzaki-sensei added.

"Each team gets one list and one flashlight. After you get these items you may start. The team of three will leave last because they have an advantage.

One by one, each team left the clearing and disappeared into the gloom until there was only Ryoma, Yuuta, Sakuno and Ryuzaki-sensei left.

"You guys can go after I leave." Ryuzaki-sensei said. After waiting a few minutes she left and the three young teens were left alone with each other and the eerie silence.

"It'll be okay Tezuka-san; they wouldn't let anything happen to us." Yuuta said to a shaking and terrified Sakuno.

"Yeah, I guess…" She said weakly.

"Mada mada dane. I didn't think anyone could be scared by Inui-sempai's ghost stories." Ryoma said as he grabbed Sakuno's hand and began walking into the forest.

"You can hold onto my hand too if you're scared Tezuka-san. I mean…if you want to…" Yuuta sputtered embarrassedly.

"Arigato, Yuuta-kun." Sakuno replied as she squeezed both of their hands tightly in hers and began walking into the woods.

* * *

"The target has left the clearing. Repeat, the target has left the clearing." Momo said into a walkie talkie. He had been watching the trio from a nearby bush the whole time.

"Copy that Momo. Everyone is in position." Kikumaru's voice responded over the walkie talkie.

Unknown to Ryoma, Yuuta and Sakuno; the entire activity was really just a prank played on them. Scattered throughout the forest, armed with walkie talkies and scary costumes were the other eight members of the Seigaku tennis team.

"Looks like things are going well with Echizen and Sakuno." Momo said into the walkie talkie.

"I still think it's going to be Echizen and Yuuta." Kikumaru's voice replied.

"Don't worry about it guys, we'll find out who she likes more before the sun sets today." Inui voice said mischievously.

* * *

_Hello everyone. Sorry the ghost story in this chapter was kinda cheesy. I couldn't think of anything else. Anyway I have decided that this story is going to be a RyoxSaku. Sorry Yuuta fans. I had originally intended it to be SakunoxYuuta but I just couldn't paint Ryoma as the villain anymore. I promise I'll do a SakuxYuuta soon! Happy reading!_

_ViennaSky_


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